1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to apparatus for dissipating operating heat from a portable computer operatively connected to a docking station used to electrically connect the docked computer to desktop peripheral devices.
2. Description of Related Art
With the advancement of computer microprocessor technology, portable computers such as the increasingly popular notebook computer are beginning to equal larger desktop computers in performance. The more advanced notebook computers also produce, in quite a small spatial envelope, a very significant amount of operating heat which approaches that generated in a desktop computer and provides the computer designer with the challenging task of sufficiently dissipating the operating heat in order to avoid undesirably high temperatures within the interior of the notebook computer and on its various external surface areas.
Many modern notebook computers are typically operated in three modesxe2x80x94(1) by itself under internal battery power, (2) by itself using converted DC electrical power from an AC electrical source, or (3) operatively connected (or xe2x80x9cdockedxe2x80x9d) to a docking station expansion base structure which electrically couples the docked portable computer to desktop peripheral devices such as a monitor, mouse and keyboard.
In the first two of these operating modes the display screen lid portion of the notebook computer is opened, thereby increasing the total exterior surface area of the computer exposed to ambient air to which computer operating heat may be dissipated. When the notebook computer is coupled to the docking station, however, the computer""s display screen lid is closed, thereby reducing the overall exposed exterior computer surface area from which heat may be dissipated. This tends to appreciably increase the interior and exterior operating temperatures of the docked computer compared to applications in which it operated by itself with its display screen lid in its opened orientation. Such operating temperature increases are aggravated by the fact that the docking station physically covers and insulates large exterior portions of the docked computer and inhibits the dissipation of heat therefrom.
As an example, a modern high speed notebook computer microprocessor can generate within the computer on the order of about 8 watts when the computer is in its battery mode, about 10-12 watts when the computer is in its AC mode, and up to about 20 watts when the computer is operatively coupled to a docking station.
Of course, from an operating heat dissipation standpoint, provisions must be made to handle the maximum heat load conditionxe2x80x94i.e., when the notebook computer is docked with its lid closed. This has proven to be an extremely challenging design task since the small spatial envelope of modern notebook computer as a practical matter precludes the use therein of traditional desktop computer cooling apparatus such as large internal fans and heat sinks.
A need thus exists for apparatus which will adequately dissipate the substantially increased operating heat generated by a docked portable notebook computer. It is to this need that the present invention is directed.
In carrying out principles of the present invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, a specially designed docking base is utilized to provide auxiliary operating heat dissipation for a portable computer, representatively a notebook computer, operatively docked thereto. This auxiliary heat dissipation provided by the docking base advantageously reduces the amount of computer operating heat dissipation that must be provided for by apparatus carried within the portable computer itself.
In a preferred embodiment thereof, the docking base has a housing with which a thermoelectric cooling system is operatively associated. The docking base housing has a receiving area through which a portable computer may be moved through a docking path into an operatively docked position relative to the docking base housing.
The thermoelectric cooling system is operative to dissipate operating heat from the docked portable computer and has a cold side portion positioned to be engaged and receive heat from a heat dissipation portion of the portable computer, which is thermally communicated with an internal heat-generating component within the computer, in response to movement of the portable computer through the docking path.
Preferably, the cold side portion of the thermoelectric cooling system projects into the docking path and, in conjunction with a portable computer configuration useable with the docking base, is receivable in an external computer housing side surface recess when the computer is docked. The computer""s heat dissipating portion, representatively a finned heat sink member thermally connected to the computer""s microprocessor, is exposed within the recess and is engageable by the cold side portion as the computer is docked.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the thermoelectric cooling system includes a thermoelectric heat pump unit having a cold side from which a metal heat slug member projects upwardly through a docking base housing wall into the docking path, the metal heat slug member defining the aforementioned cold side portion of the thermoelectric cooling system. The docking path extends rearwardly through the docking base receiving area, and the exposed top side surface of the heat slug member is rearwardly and upwardly sloped. The computer housing recess is formed in a bottom side thereof, with the bottom side surface of the computer""s heat dissipating member being covered with a suitable thermal interface material and sloped in a manner such that it is in parallel abutment with the top side surface of the cooling system heat slug member when the computer reaches its docked orientation. A protective spring-loaded cover door is slidably secured over an outer side portion of the computer housing recess and is pushed into the housing by docking base wall projections adjacent the cooling system heat slug member entering the computer recess, and spring-returned to its original position when the slug member is withdrawn from the computer recess.
The hot side of the thermoelectric heat pump unit within the docking base housing illustratively has a heat sink member secured thereto, and a cooling fan is provided for use in dissipating heat from the heat sink member. The cooling fan representatively has its inlet coupled by a duct structure to an inlet opening in an exterior wall section of the docking base housing and is operative to sequentially flow ambient air inwardly through the inlet opening, across the hot side heat sink, and then outwardly through an outlet opening in an exterior wall section of the docking base housing.